Redding feeling 'a little erratic’ on first day of WorldSBK Donington

Scott Redding was the top Ducati rider on day-one of World Superbike action at Donington - two places ahead of team-mate Michael Rinaldi. 

And while P5 wasn’t a bad start on his first WorldSBK visit to Donington, it was a day in which Redding felt ‘erratic’ and not ‘consistently smooth’. 

"Yeah I feel okay; I just don’t feel consistently smooth. I feel a little; maybe erratic is the word, like I’m not able to make the lap time as I want, as easy as I want," said Redding. 

"But it’s also track conditions. Grip seems to be a little bit low and it’s one of those circuits with so many different types of corners - off-camber, bumpy, over crest, it’s always changing a lot the feeling of the bike. It just took me a while. 

"This morning I went out and I was all over the place and had to really take a few steps back to settle in. 

"This afternoon was better but we’re still looking to get the set-up to make the bike a bit easier for me to ride." 

The Ducati rider said there wasn’t anything specific holding him back in terms of pace and comfort, but instead, consistency was required. 

Redding also pointed to Donington being a track less suited to the Ducati and more to Yamaha and Kawasaki’ liking.

"For me it’s consistency. When we see the ideal time, I was like three or four tenths faster if I put my sectors together, but I wasn’t able to do that," added Redding.  

"This is a Yamaha track in my opinion, it’s quite flowing for a Yamaha and Kawasaki. 

"They have that kind of pick-up and go advantage. I don’t think it’s all negative for us, I think we have a package that can definitely fight for the podium."